Prom Ghosts (A Perry Moxley & Harry Singer Story)

The West Sides

Chapter Eleven (The West Sides)

Perry

The Gates of Hades loomed above us. It was huge and intimidatingly tall, made out of wrought iron bars and fastened with chains and a big padlock – a definite sign for us to keep out.

But Harry was unquestionably determined not to. He walked over towards the gate dauntingly and tried to stick his face in between the bars.

"Why'd they have to put up a gate in here?" I watched as he clasped his hands around the bars then began to jerk them violently. I tried to tell him to stop or it'll fall over him then decided against it after realizing that if ever the huge old gates squashed Harry down – it might have been for the best.

"It's a barrier. Haven't you heard? This place is haunted with ghosts," he grinned. "The gate's what keeps from escaping into our world."

Harry was spinning up nonsense. But still, I couldn't quite avoid not being a bit creeped out. I've had heard stories about the West Sides, how it used to be the academy but it had to be shut down when things became too creepy. Not really sure what happened back then but it must be something really grave if they had to shut a school down. So now they just let the place rot and crumble away.

"Maybe we should go back..." I suggest.

"Why? Are you scared?" Harry snickers cruelly. "What a baby."

I glared at him.

"Don't you want to see what's really in there?"

"Not really," I deadpanned.

He shrugs at me. "Well, I'm going in," he says. "You can stay out here. In the dark."

I made a quick glance around at the crooked trees with long, gnarled branches that bear resemblance to claws reaching out for prey. That was something I was not looking forward to.

"How are you even going to get through? The gate's locked, genius," I asked him to which he replied with another shrug.

"Duh, by climbing," he says as a matter-of-factly.

"Why didn't I think of that?" I say with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

He rubs his knuckle on my head and throws a thumb towards him. "Ingenious," he says and I mentally face-palmed myself as he turns towards the gates, clasping the bars. "You coming or not, sugar?"

I blew a strand of hair from my face. "I'll pass."

I heard him chuckle and mutter something underneath his breath that sounded something like, "Chicken."

My foot landed on his behind. "Who're you calling chicken?"

"Okay, so climb the gates," he grinned. "Prove to me that you're not. Show me you're not scared. Ladies first, madam."

"And you'll abandon me behind?" I said. "No."

He grins. "How'd you guess, that?"

"Why don't you go first?" I suggest. "Better yet, why don't you go on alone yourself and leave me out of this."

"And let you leave me behind?" he chuckled. "No fair."

I stared at the gates. There was no way I was climbing that. The guy's deranged. Whatever even crossed his mind to go into a place like this?

"I'm not going to leave you," he said. "I promise."

Hearing that from Harry sounded odd. It wasn't something I expected from a conceited campus nobility like him. But somehow it sounded reassuring enough. Guess now I'm the deranged one.

I had to step on his shoulders first because the gates were just too high and he graciously offered them despite my reluctance.

"I can see up your skirt." He grins maliciously.

"I will kick you in the face," I threatened as I grappled with the rusty gate.

Wobbling a bit as I heaved myself up the gate while Harry gave me a boost from beneath, I felt like I was on top of Everest.

My breath condensed in front of me.

"Well done, you've reached the top," Harry tells me. "Now jump off."

The gate was a good five meters high and he's telling me to jump. "Are you crazy?"

An evil smirk formed on his lips and he began to yank on the bars. I tried to hold on for dear life but the gates were swaying violently so I jumped, landing on the ground on all fours. Meanwhile, Harry followed suit and swung over the gate, landing gracefully beside me.

"That was fun!" he chirped.

I swear I felt as if I've entered an entirely different dimension. The air around us felt weird in here. The wind was still and quiet.

I gaze around at the trees. They seemed to be watching us, waiting and holding their breaths. We weren't supposed to be here. "Okay, let's go back, now."

"No way! The fun is just starting," he turned on a flashlight (that suspiciously looked a lot like mine) which quickly emitted a bright yellow beam then trudged through the dark without me.

Without the light the mist shrouded around me so I sprang after him, grabbing his sleeve without glancing back.

"This place is awesome," he marveled, shining the light everywhere.

I told him to stop, that he might accidentally shine over something else. He twirled the flashlight, making the light dart all over the place. The dark was playing on my eyes. It made me see things from my peripheral view and I cried out when I thought I saw something behind a tree.

Harry gave me an annoyed look when he shined the flashlight over the tree and saw nothing.

"You're just imagining to be seeing things," he rolled his eyes.

At this point, we have now reached a vast clearing past the woods and found an old, dilapidated structure standing tall between the trees. Pieces of the brick walls have chipped off from time and the elements. Grime had grown and festered on the building making it look eerie and uninviting.